The present invention relates to a real-time maintenance alert system for use in a heavy-duty truck having an engine controller with memory and a transmission.
In the control of fuel injection systems, electronic control units having volatile and non-volatile memory, input and output driver circuitry, and a processor capable of executing a stored instruction set are utilized to control various functions of the engine and its associated systems. A particular electronic control unit communicates with numerous sensors, actuators, and other electronic control units necessary to control various functions, which may include various aspects of fuel delivery, transmission control, or many others.
In heavy-duty truck applications, in addition to utilizing a highly complex engine controller that monitors the engine conditions so that when required, engine protection and engine shutdown logic may be executed to prevent possible engine damage, some normal service items of a truck must be physically inspected by opening the hood to physically check each item, preferably each time the truck is stopped. With the heavy-duty trucking industry becoming more and more competitive, maintenance reduction is becoming significantly more important. As such, it is sometimes undesirably time consuming to tilt the hood and physically check each normal service item of each truck throughout the day at a trucking bay.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a system that facilitates the checking of normal service items of a truck.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a real-time maintenance alert system for use in a heavy duty truck that allows normal service items of a truck to be checked at a glance, rather than opening the hood to physically check each item, and includes a display device configured to transmit and receive information over the data link, and directly receiving and processing non-engine item information.
In carrying out the above object and other objects and features of the present invention, a real-time maintenance alert system for use in a heavy duty truck having an engine including an engine controller having a communications data link is provided. The system comprises an engine item sensor, a non-engine item sensor, control logic at the engine controller, and a display device. The engine item sensor operates to produce a signal representing information indicative of an engine item condition. The non-engine item sensor operates to produce a signal representing information indicative of a non-engine item condition. The control logic is configured to process the engine item condition information and to determine a presence of an engine item real-time fault condition. The control logic is operative to produce an output signal at the data link in response to the presence of the engine item real-time fault condition. The display device has memory and is configured to transmit and receive information over the data link. The display device processes the control logic output signal and stores a status of the engine item in the memory. The display device generates an output signal indicative of the engine item status.
Further, the display device directly receives and processes the non-engine item sensor output signal and stores a status of the non-engine item in memory. The display device generates an output signal indicative of the non-engine item status. That is, advantageously, the display device transmits and receives information over the data link including engine item information based on sensor readings made by the engine controller. And further, the display device directly receives and processes non-engine item information to expand the real-time maintenance alert system capabilities to support items not directly monitored by the engine controller.
It is appreciated that engine item sensors may have various different types of outputs and the engine controller may have various corresponding types of inputs. For example, the engine item sensor may produce the signal at an analog or digital output with the engine controller having a corresponding analog or digital input to receive the engine item sensor output. Further, for example, the engine item sensor may produce the signal at a communications data link output and the engine controller then receives the engine item sensor output over the data link. Further, it is appreciated that the non-engine item sensor output signal that is directly received and processed by the display device may be received in a plurality of different ways. For example, the non-engine item sensor may produce the signal at an analog or digital output with the display device having a corresponding analog or digital input. Further, for example, the non-engine item sensor may produce the signal at a communications data link output with the display device receiving the non-engine item sensor output over the data link.
The advantages associated with embodiments of the present invention are numerous. For example, embodiments of the present invention allow normal service items of a truck to be checked at a glance rather than requiring opening of the hood to physically check each item. The display device is an intelligent device having memory and is configured to communicate over the data link, and store the fault condition status in the memory. Because the invention utilizes a communication data link of the engine controller, embodiments of the present invention have many advantages over the prior art. For example, in addition to displaying maintenance alert information, the display device may be configured to display periodic maintenance information or engine protection information when such information is available from the engine controller over the data link. As such, the intelligent display device having memory utilized in the invention is more versatile than existing systems.
The real-time maintenance alert system of the present invention, in addition to supporting items based on sensor readings made by the engine controller, has expanded capabilities. Specifically, the display device directly receives and processes non-engine item sensor output signals to support items not directly monitored by the engine controller. This allows other important maintenance items, that are not directly related to engine performance, to be monitored by the maintenance alert system. These items include, but not are limited to, transmission filter restriction, windshield washer fluid level, power steering fluid level, low fuel level, oil quality, and low tire pressure. A preferred embodiment of the maintenance alert system could support all fluids, filters, and any other maintenance item that can be electronically monitored by allowing non-engine sensors to send information directly to the maintenance alert system display device in addition to the display device receiving information from the engine controller.
The above object and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.